Lance does a question and answer session with Austin Texas fans before heading off to the final bike race of his career, a bid to win his 7th Tour de France in a row. The setting was Lance’s new health club.

Watch the video podcast athttp://touroftexas.com/podcasts/sjhcycle.mpgChris Brewer, Discovery Channel “primary journalist”, does a video podcast on the outlook for this year’s Tour de France, the Discovery team with Ivan Basso, the Flying Forehead, and his Team Hotel San Jose. Barry Lee and Todd Reid head up Team San Jose. Today is Barry’s 42nd birthday and the team is showning pedaling off to South Austin for a 3 hour ride. “The Discovery team is looking great with Ivan Basso, says Chris. Lance is riding with the team and grooming Basso as his successor. We takea look at the Madone 5.9 SL with the Powercontrol V with “more information than a man needs to know”. We also talk with several other Team San Jose members, which numbers over 300 members.The interview takes place in front of Downtown Jo’s, which is the site of tonight’s moveon.org event and showing of “An Inconvenient Truth”.from http://teamhotelsanjose.com

Team Hotel San Jose is a new kind of racing team and sports club, led by athletes who are dedicated to serving the community by working with disadvantaged and at-risk youth, developing the skills of beginning and intermediate cyclists, and cultivating the most incredible regional racing team you’ve ever seen. The core team members are a motivated group of professional and ex-professional cyclists, cycling enthusiasts, and triathletes, who ride with respect for all, regardless of experience. We welcome road cyclists and mountain bikers, runners and multi-sport athletes, men and women, and girls and boys.

The U.S. national soccer team recently embarassed itself in the World Cup. During the Olympics, U.S. athletes regularly get beat in certain sports that, like soccer, are taken much more seriously in other countries than in ours.

So why have Americans done so well in the Tour de France?

American cyclists have won 10 of the past 20 TdF’s—well, two American cyclists: Greg Lemond (1986, 1989, 1990) and Lance Armstrong (1999-2005). And Floyd Landis, after a mind-blowing ride yesterday, may win this year’s. (Landis, btw, is a fascinating guy, who’s been riding with a degenerative hip; see Daniel Coyle’s recent profile and, even better, read Coyle’s book Lance Armstrong’s War.) And other American riders have been finishing very well in the TdF in recent years.

The French rite of summer has just come to a close and the modest county, Mennonite kid from San Diego has brought home the gold, the yellow jersey. Floyd Landis made the mostly ceremonial ride in to Paris today.

There’s something to be said for a sports event that lasts for 23 days, like the European month long vacations.

Michael Rasmussen’s tremendous breakaway win to La Toussuire, overshadowed by Landis’s attack the following day, shot him to the lead, and the overall win, in the climber’s polka-dot jersey competition.

Damiano Cunego, already a winner of the Giro d’Italia, takes the best young rider’s white jersey, just 38 seconds ahead of Marcus Fothen of Gerolsteiner. The pair were about 90 minutes ahead of the next competitor in the under-25 competition.

Saunier Duval’s David de la Fuente, the climbing jersey leader until Rasmussen’s big day out front, takes the overall “most combative rider” prize.

Landis took his final yellow jersey of the Tour with his daughter Ryan on the podium.

Post-race interview with Frankie Andreu: Landis says, “Right now, I have no intention of switching teams.” Leaves a little wiggle room, but sounds like the iShares team (as Phonak will be called next year) has its Tour captain for 2007.

If you want to read a great cycling bloggers rundown, check out Martin Dugard’s blog, here’s a tidbit from that blog entry:

“That he did. Per his style, Landis didn’t explode away from the peloton in the manner of most breakaways. Rather, he gradually left a yellow jersey group containing Oscar Pereiro, Cadel Evans, Andreas Kloden, and Denis Menchov. He tiptoes away like a cat burglar, as if afraid of drawing attention to himself. Landis then began an 80-mile individual time trial, constantly dousing himself with water on this humid mountain afternoon, at one point pulling so far ahead that he was the virtual leader of the race.” . . .

Ah… but when Floyd crossed the line today, fist thrust into the air and a scowl on his face, Amber Landis jumped up and down. “Oh, baby!” she screamed, fighting back tears. Only this time they were tears of joy. And, if I am to be honest here, I was a little misty, too…

So tomorrow the stage is a little on the downhill side, a 120-mile run from Morzine down into Macon. Teams might try to take a little bite out of Landis, hoping to gain a few seconds on him before Saturday’s time trial. With Pereiro (with whom Landis ate breakfast this morning, just the two of them) 30 seconds in front and Sastre 18 seconds up, Landis is close enough that a powerful time-trial Saturday will likely win him the Tour.”

“I am here to win the Tour de France” was the reply given when he was asked to comment on his amazing comeback in today’s stage of the tour de france at the podium. At the start of the last mountain stage, the favourites for the yellow jersey were, the current holder Oscar Perreiro, Menchov, Carlos Sastre, Dressel and a few others. But Floyd Landis wasn’t even counted as a contender anymore.

At yesterdays mountain stage, Landis lost 10 minutes to Perreiro for an overall deficit of 8 minutes.

Coming into the final mountain stage today, no one expected Landis to be in the top 5 fnish let alone the maillot jaune (yellow jersey), but after todays incredible breakaway from the peloton, Landis managed to build up a 7 minute lead which he held on till the finish of the 200.5 km mountain stage with steep ascents amounting to upto 10 degrees in the final 20 kms.

Today’s stage was an awesome comeback by Landis, who had been written off by the Frech Press sometime back, when he held the yellow jersey, as some one who wasnt really worthy of it.

Like the OLN announcers said, Landis seemed like a man possessed. He didn’t know what went wrong yesterday having cracked in the final 20 kms losing a huge 10 minutes. He made no excuses and today he was the man to reckon.

As of today Perreiro leads in the general classification, with Sastre 12 seconds behind and Landis 30 seconds back. So who’s it going to be? Saturday’s time trial should tell the tale of this year’s Tour de France.

Lance Armstrong emceed the event and did a great job as a deadpan comedian, proving that Saturday Night Live wasn’t just a fluke. He pointed out Austin’s Mathew McConaughey in the audience as the “sexiest man alive” and then chided the audience that you don’t all have to look at him, we know what he looks like, then he motioned to Gyllenhaal, the co-star of “Brokeback Mountain,” and said “Up here Jake, eyes front!” Answering his own question “What am I doing here” he said he told the producers “Are you kidding, I would give my left ball” to do the gig.

“Lance Armstrong raised eyebrows – and got laughs – as host of Wednesday night’s ESPY Awards, where he cracked crude jokes about new best friends Jake Gyllenhaal and Matthew McConaughey.” – People

The actors, who’ve been photographed recently clad in Spandex and biking with Armstrong, were in the audience at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre. Armstrong, in a reference to Gyllenhaal’s Brokeback Mountain role, asked why Gyllenhaal was sitting in the front when Armstrong thought he preferred to be “in the rear”. . . Of the theater, people.” – People

Armstrong took a punch at the World Cup runner-up French Soccer team, saying “all their players tested positive … for being assholes.” Part of the Lance Love Hate French thing.

People: At the afterparty at the Mondrian Hotel’s Skybar, Armstrong, McConaughey and Gyllenhaal hung out with actors Cole Hauser and Matthew Perry, while Arizona Cardinals footballer Matt Leinart stuck with Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo. Other guests included Ashley Judd, Brandy, Venus and Serena Williams and Kiefer Sutherland.

And there were the young Afghan girls who were honored by the ESPYs with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award for defying Taliban authorities to play soccer.

Alp d’Huez – the first major climbs of the Tour de Francepicture left – “No dad, I beat you by 30 minutes on Alp D’Huez, not 20 minutes.” a tour watcher at TourWatch 2005 at Central Market. You’ll see more of this little scene in the world premiere of our upcoming video podcast of TourWatch 2005 on July 30th. We’re not at Central Market this year watching the Tour, but we have video of last year’s huge event that we’ll publish online.

So today is Alp D’Huez and I’m watching on OLN. This is Floyd Landis chance to put his stamp on the Tour de France. But there are many challengers. Usually, the Tour the winner of today’s stage goes on to win the Tour de France.

Home/Office for rent in Cedar Creek, TexasView pictures This is a gorgeous central Texas Cedar Creek (Bastrop) 4,500 sf home with a swimming pool, 9 bedrooms, 6 baths, and is surrounded by thousands of acres of open ranch land, fields and meadows. Two large 18 x 32 conference / living rooms, one with a 24′ ceiling and lofts. Surrounded by woods and year round creek. Fiber optic t-1 internet available. Ideal for dot com home business. Now listed for rent. New! See pictures.

Lance Amstrong News on our Blog – The “docureality” show produced by the Discovery Networks Travel Channel will air on Thursday night, Dec 22 on channel 58 (Grande Communications) and channel 33 (Time Warner).

Many local Austin media outlets carried coverage of this event. On the last day of the Tour de France several thousand people showed up to cheer Lance on and sign several giant yellow cards that the Outdoor Life Network brought to the event.

Here’s the email from producer Bill Delano about the event

Hey Ya´ll~ Tune in tomorrow night for my first film, “Chasing Lance: a Fans Story”!!! Its a great show, was a thrilling adventure and will forever stand as testament to what two friends can do with a camcorder, computer, and a dream.

Here’s the TV Guide sum up: Join five Americans on an emotion packed thrill ride as they chase the Tour all around France supporting their hero in his seventh and final ride. These are true fanatics who do far more than vacation, they redefine what it means to be a true Fan.

Let everyone know and check it out on the Travel Channel on Thursday, December 22 at 8 and 11pm EST (7 and 10 pm CST).

Listen to the podcast http://austincast.com/podcasts/a6031406.bsideberkowitz.mp3 I am never wrong. That’s what the t shirt says. If I get caught by bside wearing it in one of the lines for a film at SXSW I might win a video ipod. These guys “get it”; every year there’s a standout at the SXSW trade show and these guys are clearing in first place this year. They have a great idea and it is full of potential for growth. Here’s the skinny. bside approaches film festivals and offers them free websites. And the websites are visually appealing, full of features and tools and have a great personal calendar that film goers can use to organize the films they want to see. What’s in it for bside? They get to cherry pick the best films and sign them up for a film deal. You see, they’re first and foremost a film distributor and they choose their films by watching the websites they create and follow the buzz. So far they’ve done the Austin Film Festival and they have several more lined up. If you’re a film festival, watch out. These guys are headed your way. If you’re a film maker looking for a distributor, you might want to find ways to send your fans to their websites and get them to create buzz. There is so much potential in this project for the fans of film festivals. I can see these guys expanding this concept with podcasts, videos, interviews, online polls and reviews, blogs, and more. Best of show at SXSW Interactive. No doubt. bside.com